Month: November 2018

The first major update is coming to Battlefield V next week alongside the the launch of the World War II game’s Tides of War event. While the full patch notes have not been released yet, developer DICE has started to provide some insight into what you can expect for this update and ones to come on a further-out timeline.

Writing on Reddit, the studio said one of the more notable changes has to do with the Time to Kill (TTK) and TTD (Time to Death) elements. DICE is observing that players are dying too often/too quickly, and are getting frustrated as a result. In the wake of this, DICE is “looking at how we can improve the experience for new players and veterans and alike.”

Next week’s Battlefield V update won’t include any changes to TTK specifically, but DICE is looking into changes that might lead to a “perceived” slower TTK through things like netcode, damage feedback, and other elements.

“We want to achieve gunplay balance where the experience is healthy, where latency is in a good place in order to improve consistency experience across all platforms including PC and console,” DICE said. “We want to propose any TTK model changes to you, the community, and involve you in testing experimental changes with the goal of improving experience and create deeper gameplay potential.”

Core gameplay designer Le Bihan said improving the TTK/TTD experience is “one of our high priorities right now,” adding that getting things to a better place involves “complex pieces that are being investigated…”

DICE is working on some new TTK measures, and it may roll the changes out on a small pool of servers first, to compare with the original TTK formula.

“It may be proposed to players in-game by rolling out the new TTK changes globally to all players connecting to any server, while adding a new playlist accessible through the server browser where players can play the old (or as it is, current) TTK to compare the two experiences,” Bihan said.

As for changes that are coming to to Battlefield V next week in the new update, players can expect the revive mechanic to improve for both the reviver and the revivee. “We identified a few delays that prevented players to get full control after the animation was completed–this is now resolved and will virtually make the reviving experience ‘faster.’ We want to see if what we are addressing improves the quality of the experience enough. Increasing the revive speed is something we still keep in mind but aren’t implementing just yet,” DICE said

As for the weapon balance changes, DICE is making a series of changes, which you can see at the bottom of this post. Outside of those changes, DICE confirmed that the ability to drag a downed teammate–a feature shown in trailers before launch–won’t be included in the update. “We are still investigating feasibility around this mechanic,” DICE wrote.

GameSpot’s Battlefield V review scored the World War II shooter an 8/10. DICE is planning numerous and significant updates to the game over time, including the Tides of War event, as well as a battle royale mode called Firestorm that’s coming in March.

Weapon Balancing/Changes

• Damage

  • Decreased M1928A1 maximum damage to 25.1 (previously 30)

  • Increased the 3 hit kill range of the Gewehr 1-5 to 30 meters (previously 25 meters)

  • Increased maximum damage for the Sturmgewehr 1-5 and StG 44 to 25.1 (previously 24)

  • Reduced the range at which the Turner SMLE can kill with one headshot and one body shot to 30 meters (previously 35 meters)

  • Increased the 4 hit kill range of all assault rifles, LMGs, MMGs and SMGs to 10 meters (previously 9 meters) to make close quarter damage more reliable

  • Increased all SMG 5 hit kill range to 30 meters (previously 25 meters)

  • Slightly extended pistol damage drop-off distances

  • Bolt actions no longer deal slightly reduced damage when hitting the lower body or upper arms, this means the minimum damage will never go below 55 damage.

• Recoil

  • Increased horizontal recoil of the KE7 to 0.45 (previously 0.36)

  • Increased horizontal recoil of the M1907 SF to 0.41 (previously 0.39)

  • Decreased horizontal recoil of the STEN to 0.38 (previously 0.4) and increased the efficacy of the Ported Barrel specialization

• Specializations

  • Increased the effect of the Slings and Swivels specialization. Switching to your primary weapon is now an additional 50 ms faster for all weapons and firing after sprinting is allowed an additional 16 ms earlier for bolt actions, assault rifles, semi auto rifles and SLRs

  • Changed the specialization for the KE7. Recoil Buffer has been removed. Quick Aim has been added. Specialization tree has been reordered

• Reload

  • Increased the reload speed of the KE7. Base reload time is now 3.55 s (previously 3.75 s)

  • Increased the reload speed of the MG34 with the double drum magazine. Tactical reload is now 3.7 s (previously 4 s) and empty reload is 5.083 s (previously 5.5 s)

  • Increased the reload speed of the M1907 SF. Tactical reload is now 2.7 s (previously 2.9 s) and empty reload is 3.3 s (previously 3.5 s)

• Miscellaneous

  • Improved sustained fire accuracy of SMGs while aimed and stationary

  • Decreased sustained fire accuracy of assault rifles while aimed and moving

  • Increased muzzle velocity of all SMGs as follows:

  • MP34: 495 m/s (previously 450 m/s)

  • MP34 (High Velocity Bullets): 560 m/s (previously 520 m/s)

  • STEN: 495 m/s (previously 430 m/s)

  • MP40: 455 m/s (previously 400 m/s)

  • EMP: 420 m/s (previously 380 m/s)

  • MP28: 345 m/s (previously 320 m/s)

  • Suomi KP/-31: 330 m/s (previously 300 m/s)

  • M1928A1: 330 m/s (previously 280 m/s)

  • Decreased drag of SMG bullets from to 0.005 (previously 0.007) for regular bullets and 0.0035 (previously 0.005) for High Velocity Bullets

After more than two months, Season 6 of Fortnite is coming to a close. Epic has rolled out the game’s final set of Season 6 challenges on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices, giving you one last chance to level your Battle Pass up and unlock any remaining rewards from the season. As always, there’s an extra incentive to complete these challenges; if you manage to clear all the ones from a given week, you’ll complete one of Season 6’s Hunting Party challenges.

Each Hunting Party challenge you clear will reward you with a special loading screen. Not only do these screens feature a cool piece of artwork showcasing some of the game’s newest skins, they also contain a very subtle hint that points you to a free item hidden somewhere around the island. Depending on how many Hunting Party challenges you complete, this item will either be a Battle Star–good for leveling your Battle Pass up by one tier–or a special Banner that can be used as a profile icon.

If you clear all 10 weekly sets of challenges in Season 6, you’ll unlock the loading screen pictured below. It showcases DJ Yonder–one of the new skins introduced at the start of the season–deejaying a giant party attended by other new and popular skins. Look closely at the speakers just to the left of Yonder, however, and you’ll notice a set of coordinates that read G8, G9, H8, H9. This is the clue to where you can find the final free Banner.

The aforementioned coordinates lead you to into the desert, near the area where the mysterious purple cube that played such a prominent role in Season 6 first appeared. At the start of a match, glide to where the coordinates intersect and the free Banner will pop up. Collect it as you would any other item and you’ll be able to use it as your profile icon after finishing the match, whether by getting eliminated or securing a Victory Royale.

However, just as with previous free Banners, the usual caveats apply. The item won’t appear on the island unless you’ve completed all of the necessary challenges and unlocked the aforementioned loading screen. This means you won’t simply be able to head to the right area and collect it without first clearing all 10 weekly sets of challenges.

Season 6 of Fortnite is scheduled to end on December 6, which means Season 7 will follow not too far behind. You have until then to complete this season’s challenges and unlock any remaining Battle Pass rewards. If you need some assistance, we’ve rounded up some helpful tips in our complete Season 6 challenge guide. You can also find our guides for all Season 6’s other free Battle Stars and Banners below.

Fortnite Hunting Party Challenge Guides

Yet another video game industry group has come out to say government control of loot box regulations is a bad idea. International Game Developers Association (IGDA) CEO Jen MacLean released a statement this week where she called on developers and publishers to take this issue seriously to avoid a scenario where politicians get involved and put forth legislative action that could impact games with loot box mechanics.

“By not taking significant action as an industry and global game developer community to self-regulate how loot boxes are used, we run the very real risk that governments around the world will take that action for us, and perhaps create significantly restrictive laws that could impact any random reward elements in games,” she said. “I offer my strongest advice to game developers and interactive entertainment businesses on this matter: addressing how loot boxes are used is both the right thing, and the smart thing, for the global game development industry to do.”

MacLean’s statement comes in response to the news this week that the US Federal Trade Commission may launch an investigation into loot boxes. Australia’s government has also called for a “comprehensive review” of loot boxes to determine what might be done. The IGDA backs up what the Entertainment Software Association has already said: the industry should self-regulate when it comes to loot boxes. Politicians, meanwhile, will argue that laws are necessary to ensure that something is being done to protect young people from falling into dangerous gambling habits. Self-regulation may be a good idea in theory, but actual laws or regulations would put more pressure on developers and publishers.

In her statement, MacLean–a former executive at Curt Schilling’s controversial defunct Rhode Island developer 38 Studios–said loot boxes with real-money mechanics “run the risk of triggering gambling laws.”

As an industry, MacLean said she advises the following three steps be taken immediately to avoid a situation where the government gets involved:

• Affirm an industry commitment to not market loot boxes to children
• Clearly disclose the odds of different rewards when purchasing loot boxes (as many games already do to comply with Chinese law)
• Launch a coordinated education campaign that boosts awareness of the parental controls that are available to appropriately limit how players engage with games

A politician from Hawaii, Democrat Chris Lee, is trying to make a law that would limit the sale of video games with “gambling-like mechanisms” to people under 21. Lee told GameSpot that he was aware of ESA lobbyists being flown to to Hawaii to try to stop the conversation about loot boxes from happening.

“We have to try and stand up for what is right,” Lee said earlier this year. “I think it is inevitable that, whether it was spurred by Battlefront or some of the recent big-title games just being so ridiculously exploitative of the player base, there is enough of generational transition in politics and positions of authority around the country and the world, that you have people who understand what the industry is doing and are willing to stand up and take action and do something about it. Inevitably, the industry will have to change.

“Because more and more jurisdictions are going to start protecting their citizens from the kinds of exploitive and predatory practices that the industry has been employing lately. Inevitably, that means a better industry for everybody and better games for everybody.”

Conversation around loot boxes heated up at the end of 2017 in the wake of EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront II. For a brief period of time, before the game’s official release, the title was set to allow players to spend real money on loot boxes that could potentially include items that impact gameplay. Some said this made Battlefront II effectively a slot machine where players could pay for the chance to get something they wanted. EA removed loot boxes from Battlefront II on the eve of the game’s public release, though it appears the controversy negatively impacted the game’s sales. Battlefront II re-introduced microtransactions in 2018, but only for cosmetics. EA’s newest shooter game, Battlefield V, features no loot boxes at all, while microtransactions aren’t turned on yet. Other games, such as Overwatch, continue to use loot boxes as an extra method of monetisation.